The NTRA has announced the regulations and conditions of the number portability service which is due to start on the 7th April 2008. This service allows the user to move from one mobile operator to the other using the same number (with the code) for 75 L.E. however the applicant has to meet the conditions stipulated by the NTRA in this regard.It is worth mentioning that the NTRA has set these conditions after a thorough consultation process that included all stakeholders and after examining the experiences of the other countries. This comes within framework of the NTRA’s keenness to strengthen free competition and enhance the quality of service.

Number Portability Steps

The applicant has to be at least a one-year subscriber in the company from which he wants to shift. He also has to keep his subscription in the new company for at least one year.

The applicant has to submit an official Identity Card at any of the customer service centers of the company he wants to shift to.

He has to fill an application form stating the company that he wants to shift to.

The subscriber has to submit an official ID and the portability request and to pay the due fees (75 L.E.)

In case the subscriber is using the invoice system, he has to pay the last invoice and to submit any of the invoices from the company he shifted from. The applicant has also to pay an insurance amount (average of the last 3 months payment) in addition to the portability fees.

In case the subscriber is using prepaid cards system, he has to pay only the portability fees, however he loses the rest of his credit when moving from one company to another.

In case the subscriber is a member in a collaborative system of payment he has to shift to an individual system before submitting his request.

The customer service center of the company that the subscriber want to shift to, keeps the portability request and a photocopy of the customer’s ID

The customer service center gives the subscriber the new SIM card, issued by the new company he shifted to yet with the same number.

Shortly after the shifting process, the subscriber will receive a message on his old SIM card (of the company he is shifting from) to ask him to replace the old SIM card by the new one (of the company he is shifting to)

The number will be shifted from the old company to the new one in maximum 5 working days from the date of the application

In case the company that the subscriber wants to leave rejects the portability request for one of the stated rejection reasons, the company that the subscriber want to shift to will tell the subscriber about this rejection and the subscriber has then the right to get back all the amounts he paid.

The subscriber can rectify the reason of rejection and re-apply.

The subscriber can cancel the portability request and submit an official ID and fill a cancellation form daily before 10 O’clock p.m. as long as the shifting is not carried out yet and in this case, the subscriber loses the portability fees (75 L.E.)